Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Arduino-based, urban aquaponics in Oakland

faircompanies.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

21–30 of 46 posts

Re: Arduino-based, urban aquaponics in Oakland

#21

Post by amalag »

wickedbass wrote: post #4

It's super cool but spoiler alert: just youtube aquaponics, it's not new (thank's reddit). People have been doing it even commercially for over a decade. That said I think what he says about future generations learning and getting excited about farming techniques is important and it's a really awesome concept. I'd be lying if I said that I didn't think about building one of these after first learning about it! Also t…

I think access to cheap, small and powerful computers would probably improve and it make it turnkey. My guess is it is pretty complicated to get all the factors right. Figuring out things like why are my fish dying, why is there a disease in my lettuce, etc., can get complicated.

Re: Arduino-based, urban aquaponics in Oakland

#23

Post by ryanhuff »

jrockway wrote: post #9

The land in West Oakland where Eric Maundu is trying to farm is covered with freeways, roads, light rail and parking lots so there’s not much arable land and the soil is contaminated. There is no light rail in Oakland. BART is heavy rail.

I also assumed systems like BART were considered "light rail". Below is a definition for others who may also not know the difference.

The American Public Transit Association defines light rail and heavy rail respectively as follows:

Light Rail is a mode of transit service (also called streetcar, tramway, or trolley) operating passenger rail cars singly (or in short, usually two-car or three-car, trains) on fixed rails in right-of-way that is often separated from other traffic for part or much of the way. Light rail vehicles are typically driven electrically with power being drawn from an overhead electric line via a trolley or a pantograph; driven by an operator on board the vehicle; and may have either high platform loading or low level boarding using steps.

Heavy Rail is a mode of transit service (also called metro, subway, rapid transit, or rapid rail) operating on an electric railway with the capacity for a heavy volume of traffic. It is characterized by high speed and rapid acceleration passenger rail cars operating singly or in multi-car trains on fixed rails; separate rights-of-way from which all other vehicular and foot traffic are excluded; sophisticated signaling, and high platform loading.

Reference: http://metro-cincinnati.org/?p=1566

Re: Arduino-based, urban aquaponics in Oakland

#24

Post by Kototama »

swalsh wrote: post #18
Kototama wrote: post #13

I really enjoy seeing how the simplicity and power of Arduino empower people. Also how objects become an active medium instead of becoming a consumed things.

On the other hand it would seem that this guy would have been empowered even without arduino. In the video he mentioned he has a background in robotics.

True but in general the Arduino community is very lowering the bar for these kind of things.

Re: Arduino-based, urban aquaponics in Oakland

#25

Post by sneak »

jivatmanx wrote: post #19
cs702 wrote: post #16

If I understand correctly, this 'aquaponics' solution: * does not require arable land, because the plants grow on containers filled with stones through which water constantly circulates; * uses an order of magnitude less water than traditional agriculture, because the water is constantly recycled back from a nearby fish tank, and because the rock layer prevents water from evaporating; * allows plant density (i.e., nu…

Indeed, the economics of hydroponics would suggest that it should already dominate commercial vegetable production. The main reason they're not, is because municipalities greatly undervalue water, and because agriculture is so highly subsidized and so it's hard for hydroponics to compete. 1. Underselling water Municipal water prices set by local government greatly undervalue the actual rarity of water. With so many a…

> Right now the only pressure to reduce water use seems to be on consumers (watering policies, low-water use appliances), but they only use 11% of it.

Where does the other 89% go?

Re: Arduino-based, urban aquaponics in Oakland

#26

Post by jivatmanx »

sneak wrote: post #25
jivatmanx wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Indeed, the economics of hydroponics would suggest that it should already dominate commercial vegetable production. The main reason they're not, is because municipalities greatly undervalue water, and because agriculture is so highly subsidized and so it's hard for hydroponics to compete. 1. Underselling water Municipal water prices set by local government greatly undervalue the actual rarity of water. With so many a…

> Right now the only pressure to reduce water use seems to be on consumers (watering policies, low-water use appliances), but they only use 11% of it. Where does the other 89% go?

Agriculture & Industrial

Re: Arduino-based, urban aquaponics in Oakland

#27

Post by ph0rque »

cs702 wrote: post #16

If I understand correctly, this 'aquaponics' solution: * does not require arable land, because the plants grow on containers filled with stones through which water constantly circulates; * uses an order of magnitude less water than traditional agriculture, because the water is constantly recycled back from a nearby fish tank, and because the rock layer prevents water from evaporating; * allows plant density (i.e., nu…

All it needs now is for a talented entrepreneur to come in, find an early-adopter market for it, and turn the technology into a standardized product that can be sold at scale.

That's what we're trying to do with our project, AutoMicroFarm (http://automicrofarm.com/).

Re: Arduino-based, urban aquaponics in Oakland

#28

Post by redwood »

cs702 wrote: post #16

If I understand correctly, this 'aquaponics' solution: * does not require arable land, because the plants grow on containers filled with stones through which water constantly circulates; * uses an order of magnitude less water than traditional agriculture, because the water is constantly recycled back from a nearby fish tank, and because the rock layer prevents water from evaporating; * allows plant density (i.e., nu…

Hydroponics (similar) has been around for a long time and is used professionally for most flower grows, as well as in Brooklyn for lettuce, also in space and in countless indoor marijuana grows! Still automating the sensors is a big step forward... next step is to auto-balance pH and nutrient counts in response to sensor measurements.

Re: Arduino-based, urban aquaponics in Oakland

#29

Post by gukjoon »

jivatmanx wrote: post #19
cs702 wrote: post #16

If I understand correctly, this 'aquaponics' solution: * does not require arable land, because the plants grow on containers filled with stones through which water constantly circulates; * uses an order of magnitude less water than traditional agriculture, because the water is constantly recycled back from a nearby fish tank, and because the rock layer prevents water from evaporating; * allows plant density (i.e., nu…

Indeed, the economics of hydroponics would suggest that it should already dominate commercial vegetable production. The main reason they're not, is because municipalities greatly undervalue water, and because agriculture is so highly subsidized and so it's hard for hydroponics to compete. 1. Underselling water Municipal water prices set by local government greatly undervalue the actual rarity of water. With so many a…

The real question is whether aquaponics can create higher quality food than organic produce, which is not subsidized. Subsidies are also unsustainable in the long run. The major costs in aquaponics are in the technology, which will inevitably get cheaper. If aquaponic agriculture truly represents an order of magnitude improvement in water use and space use, and can produce better food, it's only a matter of time before not even subsidies can keep traditional agriculture economically sustainable.

This is just what I needed to see after the front page of HN was dominated by bullshit about Surface and iPad mini. Finally, technology used to make something other than toys for bored rich people.

Re: Arduino-based, urban aquaponics in Oakland

#30

Post by cs702 »

ph0rque wrote: post #27
cs702 wrote: post #16

If I understand correctly, this 'aquaponics' solution: * does not require arable land, because the plants grow on containers filled with stones through which water constantly circulates; * uses an order of magnitude less water than traditional agriculture, because the water is constantly recycled back from a nearby fish tank, and because the rock layer prevents water from evaporating; * allows plant density (i.e., nu…

All it needs now is for a talented entrepreneur to come in, find an early-adopter market for it, and turn the technology into a standardized product that can be sold at scale. That's what we're trying to do with our project, AutoMicroFarm ( http://automicrofarm.com/ ).

A very commendable effort, but I'm not sure you will find product-market fit by targeting homeowners as early adopters, because most homeowners are extremely busy and therefore happy to pay for the convenience of a grocery store and last-minute takeout food. (I'm speaking from personal experience: I don't have the time or desire to install and manage something like AutoMicroFarm in my home, but I routinely pay for online grocery delivery and take-out food.)

The two early-adopter markets I would explore first are: (1) restaurants/hotels, who are always interested in "fresh produce at 10% of the cost" and are always looking for ways to differentiate from competitors ("our produce is fresher because it's grown in-house with hydroponics"); and (2) large grocery stores in urban areas, who will have the space and staff to install and manage AutoMicroFram and are also always interested in fresher produce at a lower cost.

I suspect that if AutoMicroFarm is packaged as a standard product (e.g., the same modular box for everyone) that truly delivers value from day one (e.g., the box is delivered with grown plants of the buyer's choosing) to these two market segments, you would get much faster adoption.

PS. Obviously this would require a meaningful amount of venture capital.

Post reply on HN